Cows are protected at New Govardhana

Here at the Hare Krishna farm "New Govardhana" in Northern New South Wales, Australia we are running a cow protection program to educate people about the benefits of protecting cows and bulls from slaughter.

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WHAT IS COW PROTECTION ?

The actual philosophical reason for cow protection is very simple; all living entities deserve protection from slaughter. Not only cows, all animals have souls the same as we do. They are all children of Krsna, all dear to Him.

History Of Cow Protection

Cow's have always been our mothers and all mothers should hold a position of respect, and since one does not kill and eat one's mother, the cow should not be killed and eaten. Likewise, the bull is our father because he can plow the earth to produce food grains. One does not kill and eat one's father and mother -- not even when they are old and less economically useful.

5000 years ago, Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appeared on earth to protect His devotees and to demonstrate His pastimes. Among those pastimes was his childhood role as a cowherd boy. The cows were very dear to Him because of their affectionate and gentle nature as well as their contributions to human society ( one may be amazed to learn that cows have medical, ecological, agricultural, socio political and religious value), and He was kind to them in return and protected them. We should follow His example.

Our Limited Intelligence

We make a blunder mistake when we limit our intelligent in thinking that the cow should be protected because typically, her main usefulness is seen as milk production, and she will not give milk unless she first has a calf. Half of all calves are bulls who will never produce milk. The expense of feeding the bulls will be a deficit to the farmer unless he realizes their potential for alternative energy by employing them in tilling the fields and hauling. Otherwise, the farmer, in most countries throughout the world, acquires his economic profit by selling them for meat either directly to the slaughterhouse, the meat industry's feedlots, or to the veal industry where he lives a short life crammed into a small crate not much bigger than him.

The cow is also sold for meat when she cannot produce the required quantity of milk. Regardless of milk production, even the dung and urine of a cow or bull is valuable. Instead of slaughtering these cows and bulls who do not produce milk, why not utilize their dung and urine in fertilizers, compost, pest repellent, medicines, cleaning products, pancagavya, and biogas fuel to name a few useful and saleable items?

"It has been found by chemical examination that the cow dung contains all antiseptic properties as already mentioned in ancient text that even the cow's urine and dung are purifiers.

Since the modern system of agriculture does not realize the alternative energy potential of the bull calf nor the variety of useful bovine dung and urine products. Therefore, slaughtering becomes the only economically viable means of management. People dont realize that the overall value of the ox is greater when he is utilized for work than when he's slaughtered for meat, and even when not productive a cow or ox produces useful urine and dung.

The present system is full of ironies and very wasteful. Everyone laments the loss of the small family farm. But economic forces today require quantity control -- which is dependent on expensive tractors, polluting fossil fuels, chemical fertilizers, and heavy mortgages -- and the small farmer is driven out of business.

Some practical solutions-start employing the oxen.

First, breed cows not to provide milk with calves as the by-product, but to provide a team of oxen for every family farm with milk as the by-product. There will be neither excess milk nor excess calves. The oxen will be out in the pastures eating simply, and naturally fertilizing the soil, saving the farmer the cost of the tractor, fuel, and fertilizer. The oxen will be quite content to use their big muscles in such wholesome work, and the humans can become healthy

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